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Redundant phone kiosks are helping to reduce carbon emissions from transport
The changing face of street furniture is demonstrated by the partnership in Ireland between eir, the countries largest provider of fixed-line and mobile telecommunications services, and EasyGo, the largest private car charging network in Ireland.
What is really interesting is that this is being seen as a way to support public infrastructure by helping communities meet their changing needs and replaces eir payphone kiosks. In 2020 the Universal Service Obligation for eir to provide public payphones was removed and since then they have been looking for how best to support communities.
The EV charging initiative is not the only approach adopted by eir who a year ago announced that they would replace payphones in Dublin City which were unused or in a state of disrepair with digital kiosks which not only provide point of connectivity, but also an information system for the local authorities services including mapping systems and advertising space.
The EasyGo initiative kicks off with seven new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in County Carlow but will continue to be rolled out, replacing unused payphone kiosks with rapid EV charging units across Ireland. EasyGo Technical Director, Chris Kelly said that the planned to replace up to 180 telephone kiosks with fast EV chargers at no cost to local authorities.
Oliver Loomes, CEO of eir, said: “Electric vehicles are a critical part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan which sets out a target of almost one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. In order for Ireland to move to electric vehicles, we must have the required infrastructure in place, not just in cities, but across all of Ireland.
This new infrastructure will benefit the community similar to the way public payphone services once did. The chargers will not only benefit people living and working in Carlow, but those travelling through. Today we are in discussion with other County Councils across the country and we hope others will follow Carlow’s lead."
This is the type of initiative we hope to see submitted for the 2022 World Communication Awards, fitting both the #BeyondConnectivity and #Sustainability categories. If you are interested in submitting entries, visit www.worldcommsawards.com to find out more
